Visa is planning an iPhone case with integrated NFC, according to an accidentally-posted press release that wasn't pulled fast enough.
The release was only online for moments, but long enough for NFC World to spot.
The announced case contains a secure element from DeviceFidelity, as well as NFC hardware, enabling users to pay …

Is it just me or are there other people out there who don't trust these airwave thingies?

Re..Is it just me?

Every time a new tech comes along its the same with you 'Nay' sayers.

How on Earth could anyone think trusting your available credit, car security, home alarm system and life in general to an easily lost device routinely rooted by teenagers all over the world is a bad idea?

This is kind of a good thing...

On the plus side, you don't need to carry your wallet, but just your phone. Which is more than a phone. Its your GPS locator, your music box, your personal tv and web device, your PDA, your camera ... all rolled in to one. And if you want that nifty online purchase? Your phone already has that trusted information built in. ;-)

Forget about cash, you have your payment card, which incidentally means you'll be more inclined to spend more money because you lose touch with how much you're actually spending. (If you only have 20 quid in your pocket, you tend to spend only quid. If you have your entire bank account accessible, you tend to spend more.)

Now when someone steals your iPhone, they not only stole your phone, your PDA, all of your personal data, including access to your facebook account, but now your bank account and you don't even need a PIN code. So you then need to set up multiple banking accounts where you transfer $$ from your real account. So you may put $500 dollars (US) a month automatically on the card. Then if you lose your phone, you are at risk for at most $500.00. Assuming that once you report your iPhone stolen you are no longer liable for things purchased on it. This will make banks happy because they can now charge you more in fees or have an account that doesn't pay you interest so they make money off the deposits.

You see, now the crook doesn't want to steal your phone because its nifty new tech to be resold, but rather as a way to rob you of your money.

I'd worry more about snatch/grab robberies than someone going high tech and scanning data from the NFC device.

But what do I know?

I'm the tech guy who likes new tech, but is still paranoid.

;-)

Mine is the jacket with the foil lined pockets so you can't read my RFID enabled identity card(s)

and who wants this?

besides hackers, sniffers, scammers, credit card companies and retailers? Where does this benefit the consumer/end user without inappropriate levels of risk? Who besides those who benefit from removing control from the consumer think this is "a good idea"?

This is the 2nd recent Reg article that declares "people" "want this" but it appears to be an (hopefully) unintentional version of American Media spin: declare "some people" or "experts agree" without naming said people or experts because it would reveal that the "some people" either have a conflict-of-interest agenda or don't really exist or that "experts" don't have any credentials other than having the reporters' same opinion.

RFID and near field has a few decent applications. But no existing implementation has the security and user control for widespread consumer deployment. Until that time, keep it for inventory control systems and access badge readers. It's a solution trying to create its own problem.

(just had to go thru a renewal of an ATM and credit card where by default, without mentioning anything on the paperwork or account, a RFID card was shipped. Only a tiny logo on the card revealed the issue. Requested a replacement WITHOUT the glaring security hole and dropped the original in the shredder. Nice to know Chase is putting its federal bailout money to good use :P )

FFS

On one hand the fat cat banks want us to use chip ‘n’ pin and if fraud is detected its our fault for being careless with our pin, after all if we weren’t careless the bad guy wouldn’t have got our pin.

So it will go like this.

Pleb: Excuse me, but there has been a fraudulent transaction on my account.

Fat Cat Bank: no there hasn’t, we’ve got a video from the shop that does business with us and you can be clearly seen waving your NFC enable phone about in a careless manner as you took the phone from your pocket and lifted it to your head.

Not in your life..

This is the latest appearance of "RFID is sexy (really?) so let's just use it for everything" craze. It was raw insanity to use it in passports because it allows covert reading AND CHANGING, but to add this to a means of payment is stupid several miles beyond belief. The people making RFIDs must be paying these goons a fortune to close their eyes to reality.

To me, this is the clearest indication yet that credit card companies have got their fraud costs comfortable settled by the transaction fees they make. Given that they have now placed liability entirely by users and merchants there isn't a hope in hell they will as much as twitch to improve security - it's not a problem for them, and VISA/MC is a monopoly, so tough luck.

Doubt this solution will be integrated

I would imagine that this solution will be nothing more than the existing device found in Visa paywave cards integrated into a case, opposed to a device that integrates with the phone via a physical or bluetooth connection (like the mymax!).

There will likely be integration at the network level, such as SMS or push notifications of transactions, receipts etc to the handset like the way the current O2 payment card works.

This will act as a stopgap measure to get people used to the idea of using their phone (or rather their phone case) for touch payment. I believe the original idea for NFC in mobile phones replacing creditcards was that virtual credit or transport cards could be loaded into the phone (like putting physical cards into your wallet) and this has been trialed several times over the last decade or so, but never introduced in the UK at least. NFC phones are currently used in the UK for applications like tracking refuse collection etc (www.over-c.com), but getting people used to the idea of using them for payment might be difficult.

And you can use it at....

.... where exactly, Visa sent me a new card a few months back with this on, apparently I can pay for purchase to a max of £10. Not seen anywhere that uses the system and if I'm gonna pay for something under a tenner, then I usually have a tenner on me.

So what I really have now is a card with tech on that I'm not entirely sure is worth it and now sits at home home in case my wallet gets stolen or I lose it.